The Duel
by Mr. GOP 88
Summary: When Ryan and Esposito track down their latest suspect, it is revealed to be a face from Ryan's past. Now Ryan must fight to save his partner's life. Spoilers for 5x18, "The Wild Rover" .


**Disclaimer**: _Castle_ and the recognizable characters are property of the folks at ABC and their creators who make a lot more money than I do. This is for pure entertainment purposes.

_Well, here's my second Castle story. It's another one-shot and a little different, but I had fun writing it. I hope you all have as much fun reading it._

* * *

Detectives Ryan and Esposito enter the warehouse, guns drawn. Their case, that of a low-life gangster knifed in the street, had led them here. They didn't have an id on their suspect, but a CCT camera had caught him entering into this warehouse. Beckett and Castle were still working on an id, while Ryan and Esposito went to try and apprehend him.

The warehouse itself is nondescript, with the only noticeable feature being the large number of crates scattered throughout it. The two Detectives proceed cautiously. There's no telling what their suspect might do. A cornered animal is always the most vicious type of predator.

"You see anything bro?" Esposito asks.

"Nothing yet." Ryan responds, still scanning the area, looking for any signs of life.

They turn the corner around another set of crates when Esposito catches site of a small canister rolling towards them. It's all too recognizable.

"Flash bang!" He shouts.

Ryan instinctively turns towards his partner's voice, but this proves to be a costly mistake. The flash-bang explodes, throwing both men to the ground. Ryan desperately scrambles to find his partner, but with both his vision and hearing impaired, that turns out to be impossible.

"Javi!" He shouts, even though he can barely hear his own voice.

Temporarily blinded and deafened, Kevin has no warning when someone sneaks up behind him and hits him on the back of the head. Pain explodes from the attack and Ryan falls unconscious to the ground.

* * *

When he first spotted the two cops in his warehouse, he could hardly believe his luck. There is no way that _he_ would be here. It's almost too perfect. A plan rapidly forms in his mind, particularly as he glances at two particular objects nearby. Yes, that'll do nicely, and it would be truly poetic justice.

He watched them for a bit, observing how they work and operate. Typical cops. He frowned; he honestly thought the one he recognized would be a little less predictable. Oh well, that just makes his job that much easier.

He stalked his wary prey; respectful of the fact that they were armed cops and he… well he would certainly even up the odds.

His ambush worked perfectly. It caught both cops off-guard and he was able to incapacitate them both with relative ease. He seriously contemplates killing the other one on the spot, but that would be too easy. Besides, he wanted an audience. _A truly captive audience_ he chuckles to himself.

His captive audience puts up a struggle, but a quick punch to the face and clubbing him on the back of the head takes care of that. He drags his captive back to where everything is set up. He prepares everything and smiles.

The stage is set, the audience is ready. All they need now is the other actor, and the show can begin.

* * *

Ryan groans as consciousness slowly returns to him. A throbbing headache pierces through his skull. The last thing he remembers was Javi yelling about a flash bang, and then it all gets fuzzy.

"Damn it." Kevin curses as he stands up on wobbly legs. It takes a moment for his head to stop spinning. He scans the area.

"Javi?" He calls out to his partner. "Javi where are you?"

"Ryan!" Esposito sounds like he's in trouble.

Kevin races towards the sound of his partner's voice, gun drawn, and adrenaline pumping through him.

After turning another corner, Ryan freezes at the sight before him. Esposito is tied to a chair and he looks like hell, with a welt already starting to form on his face. His Kevlar vest is gone too, as well as his piece. A furious, bitter rage surges through every part of Ryan. No one does this to his partner and gets away with it. No one.

"Javi, what happened?"

Before his partner can answer, another voice catches his attention. "Well, well, if it isn't Fenton O'Connell. Or rather, Detective Kevin Ryan, the rat."

Ryan scans the area for the source of the voice. When he sees who it is, his blood runs cold. The voice belongs to a tall red-headed man with a vicious scar on the side of his face who is grinning wickedly. The man recognizes Ryan and Ryan certainly knows who he is. Even though it's been seven years, Kevin would recognize him until the day he died.

"Patrick McCairne. You son of a bitch." McCairne is one of Bobby S.'s old crew and a sadistic one at that. Back when Kevin was undercover as Fenton, the crew called him "Pat the Act" for his theatrics and flare for the dramatic. Bobby S. always said that he found Pat amusing and entertaining. But he was much more than comic relief. McCairne was an enforcer, and the cops had another name for him: "Pat the Shiv". Turns out he had a nasty habit of leaving people with a blade in their gut.

And now he's standing behind Esposito with a gun to his head.

"Drop the gun and kick it away or your partner dies. Do the same with your cell phone." McCairne orders.

Ryan does what he's told.

"Now, off with the Kevlar and toss it away too. Don't do anything brave or stupid."

Slowly, Ryan complies, his head spinning.

"Good. I've got a score to settle with you."

"How did you not get caught by the feds? Your name was all over the Bible." Ryan asks, hoping to buy some time and think of a way to get his partner out of this mess.

"Come on _Fenton, _even you got away from the feds the last time around. I went into hiding and quietly bided my time. Now, it's my turn. Getting rid of you two will make me the undisputed boss."

"What about the guy you stabbed today?"

McCairne shrugs. "He owed me money. I needed it and he wouldn't pay."

"So this is how it ends McCairne? A bullet to the head? That isn't like you at all."

"Quiet right Fenton. I have something far more appropriate in mind."

Still training his gun on Esposito, McCairne reaches with his other hand behind one of the crates and pulls out two objects: twin swords.

"Just like our ancestors did back on Erin's Isle, we will duel to decide who gets your friend. Who knows, you might even get a chance to live a little longer, depending on how good you are."

McCairne tosses Ryan one of the swords. The whole idea strikes the Irish Detective as absurd, but also far more like the Pat McCairne he used to know. That doesn't make Ryan feel any better. He has absolutely no experience in sword-fighting. McCairne might be a lunatic, but he's no dummy. He wouldn't ask Ryan to do this unless he knew that he would have a big advantage. But this is for Javier's life, so Kevin will give it everything he's got. He watches as McCairne throws his own gun away. So the sick bastard is going to make this a fair fight? Fine by him.

Ryan uneasily holds the blade out in front of himself, trying to remember how they did it in _Star Wars_ or any of the other movies he's seen. He hasn't held a sword since he went as a knight for Halloween a long, long time ago.

"Alright traitor, made your peace with God?" McCairne sneers.

Ryan doesn't respond; he just glares at the would-be mob boss in front of him.

"And look Fenton, your partner has a front-row seat to watching you die. _En guarde!_"

Ryan barely has time to react before McCairne charges him.

* * *

Esposito's head has finally stopped spinning as he realizes the insane situation they are in. He's tied to a chair after this guy got the drop on them and now his partner has to take part in a _sword fight_ to get him free. What the hell? Has something gotten into the water in this city?

Javier's heart rate goes crazy when he sees McCairne charge his partner. Ryan is barely able to get the blade up in time to avoid losing a limb. The Irish Detective ducks another swing and brings the blade back up. McCairne pushes forward, clearly experienced in wielding a weapon like this. Ryan parries another attack. He is spending his whole time defending McCairne's attacks and retreating.

Esposito calls out to his partner, remembering some of the sabre training he had received in the military. God knows he never thought he'd have any use for it. "Act like it's your arm Kev! Don't just defend, you have to attack too!"

"Thanks coach, I'll remember that!" Ryan says as he tumbles backwards from the charging mobster.

"Ass." Esposito mutters to himself, amazed that his partner can still make a joke at a time like this.

Despite his sarcastic comment, Ryan listens to his partner and becomes more efficient in blocking attacks and launching them himself. Now McCairne is the one falling back. The mobster climbs onto one of the crates and launches himself down at Ryan. The detective scrambleFs back to avoid him. A thrust from McCairne catches Ryan's vest, leaving a slash in it.

"I liked this!" Ryan complains, stabbing at McCairne, but hitting only air.

"You'll be lucky if that's the only thing I hit Fenton!"

Ryan parries another strike and automatically retaliates. He nicks McCairne in the face.

"Bastard!" McCairne hurls the epithet at him.

"This was your choice you lunatic." Ryan retorts as he pushes forward, trying to keep his advantage.

Ryan thrusts his sword at McCairne's arm but leaves too much space open. McCairne takes full advantage and swats the blade away from him. Ryan utters a profane curse as his weapon falls to the ground.

"Sorry Fenton, hard to win a sword fight with no sword!" McCairne sneers and charges.

Ryan somersaults backwards and scrambles to his feet, the blade missing him by mere inches. He dodges, weaves and retreats until his back pushes into something solid. _Shit that's not good_ he tells himself.

McCairne draws his blade back and thrusts it at Ryan. The detective ducks and the blade misses by less than a millimeter. The sword gets stuck in the crate that Kevin had backed into. He seizes the opportunity and punches McCairne in the face. The mobster reels from the blow and is temporarily stunned. Ryan takes off, trying to find either his sword or far more preferably his gun. The sword is closer to Javier so Kevin goes for it. Behind him he hears McCairne pulling his blade free of the crate. Ryan rushes and picks up his sword. He turns to Esposito. His partner is less than a foot away. Ryan pulls out the pocket knife he always carries and heads over to put it in Esposito's bound hands.

"Do me a favor; get yourself free and help will ya?" Ryan asks quickly as McCairne comes at them.

Ryan charges the man with his own sword, intent on keeping the mobster away from his partner. McCairne anticipates the move and blocks his attack. Ryan keeps pressing forward, trying to get the fight as far away from Javier as possible.

"Afraid I might hurt your partner again Fenton?" McCairne sneers.

"The name is Kevin, and you'll never go near my partner or anyone else again you twisted bastard." Ryan growls at him, sidestepping an attack in the process.

While the two Irishmen duel, Esposito tries desperately to cut himself free. If the situation wasn't so serious and ridiculous, he'd want to have a camera recording this. Never in his life did he imagine seeing Kevin Ryan, his partner, have to get into _sword-fight_ with an Irish mobster_._ Castle in his wildest dreams couldn't imagine this one.

As the fight continues, Javier notices that the duel is speeding up. Now that Ryan is more comfortable with using the blade, he's launching quicker, sharper attacks. McCairne has to work harder to defend himself. If Javi can get himself free and get a hold of one of the guns, they might just get out of this intact. Esposito starts to feel that whatever binding his hands slowly give way.

McCairne steps back to avoid one of Ryan's attacks. The Detective feels the adrenaline surging through him. "Come on McCairne, I thought you were supposed to be good with a blade!" He taunts, hoping his adversary will get angry enough to make a mistake.

McCairne is definitely angry, but he seems to be enjoying the whole experience. He actually _smiles_. "Yes! That's the Fenton I remember! We'll see how cocky you are though when I've run you through like shish kebab!" He roars.

The two men charge at each other and their blades lock. This close to his adversary, Ryan can see the hatred burning in the mobster's eyes. He knows it's there, because he feels the same hatred burning inside of him too. The two pull back, and Ryan barely dodges another thrust from his opponent, but it does tear open a hole in his shirt. _Now the whole damn outfit is ruined_ Ryan says to himself morosely.

The Irish Detective tries a new strategy. Remembering how McCairne had disarmed him, Ryan goes back on the defense, waiting for an opportunity. His opponent makes one slip up and creates an opening. Instead of using the sword, Ryan tackles McCairne full body, knocking the blades out of both their hands. Even though he is the smaller man, Ryan has far more experience using his fists in a fight instead of some damn sword.

He lands a punch to McCairne's face and blood starts to trickle out from the mobster's nose. He retaliates by head-butting the Detective. The headache that Ryan had been trying to ignore comes roaring back full force. The force of the blow stuns him, and McCairne is able to use that to land another punch. Ryan is forced to roll off McCairne, but he keeps a hold on the other man's leg to prevent him from getting up. This proves to be a bad idea as McCairne kicks him in the face. Stars fill Ryan's vision as even more pain erupts from his head. Realizing that this isn't working, he slackens his grip enough to let McCairne start to stand. Then, using a surge of adrenaline he tightens back his grip and pulls McCairne back to the ground. This time, Ryan is prepared for the incoming kick and dodges it. He fully lets go of McCairne and goes to grab his sword. The mobster is right behind him and grabs his own blade.

Both men pause for a moment to catch their breath. "I must say Fenton; you're a hell of a lot tougher than you look." McCairne wipes the blood trickling from his nose.

Ryan doesn't acknowledge the compliment. He focuses on his breathing. Although still running on adrenaline, fatigue is starting to creep in. He knows that this fight can't go on forever.

McCairne charges him again launching a brutal furry of attacks. Kevin barely has time to dodge them and starts retreating. McCairne then gets a break; Ryan isn't able to fully dodge his attack and the blade cuts him deep in his arm.

"Offing two cops in one day! How did I get so lucky?" McCairne taunts.

"This isn't over yet." Ryan retorts. Adjusting his strategy, Ryan gets onto one of the storage crates, McCairne does the same and Ryan jumps to the next one, parrying an attack while he does so. Granted, leap-frog isn't the best long-term strategy, but it's the only one he can think of right now.

"You're waning Fenton."

Deep down, Ryan knows he's right. The cut to his arm is a lot deeper than he originally thought. It isn't his right arm, the one that's holding the sword, but he can still feel the blood start to seep out of the wound.

_Come on Javi, get over here! _Ryan inwardly yells at his partner.

* * *

Esposito isn't blind; he can tell that Ryan is in trouble. The nasty wound his partner got from McCairne's earlier attack is definitely hindering his efforts. It only increases Esposito's fervent efforts to free himself. The mobster and his partner are now on top of some of the crates. Kevin is struggling. _Jesus, what the hell did he tie me with?_ Esposito grumbles to himself as the material proves stubbornly resistant.

The frantic movement of his hands stops the moment he sees his partner fall from one of the crates. Moments later he sees McCairne's arms raised and swiftly brought down.

"KEVIN!"

* * *

Ryan attempts to back up onto one of the other crates, but it proves to be too far for him. Ryan's leg slips and the detective falls to the hard concrete surface of the warehouse. Pain radiates from his back. McCairne stands over him on the crate he just fell from. Ryan desperately tries to fend off McCairne's attacks, but his foe is proving too good. In one quick motion, McCairne flicks away Ryan's sword, leaving the Irish Detective helpless.

McCairne taunts him. "Well Fenton, isn't this an interesting situation?"

Ryan stares back at McCairne. There's nothing he can do. He's totally at McCairne's mercy. Ryan begins making his peace with God and saying his good-byes: his parents, sisters, Jenny, his unborn child and his family at the 12th. They mean the world to him and now he's leaving them. He's failed to save his partner. _Please forgive me Javi._

Instead of finishing him off, McCairne seems to be wrestling with something. "No, I'm going to wait."

Ryan looks up at him with puzzlement.

"I'm not going to kill you just yet Fenton. I'm going to make you lie here while I finish off your partner." McCairne bursts into an evil smile.

Kevin's heart stops, his mind scrambling to figure out a way to save Javier. McCairne raises the blade and brings it down. It pierces through Kevin's shirt and pins him to the ground.

* * *

To Pat McCairne, the terrified look on the Detective's face is one he will cherish for a long time. With Ryan clearly no threat to him, he picks up the discarded sword and heads back to where he had tied up the other Detective. This is going to be fun.

Just as McCairne makes his way back, the other Detective manages to free himself from his restraints. The mobster chuckles when he sees the pathetic knife that the other Detective…Esposito that's his name…has to defend himself.

"Hardly a challenge." He sneers.

"You son of a bitch." Esposito growls at him. "You killed my partner. Now I'm going to kill you."

"Fenton isn't dead yet." McCairne corrects him. "I'm going to let him know he failed first, then kill him."

Esposito has no comment at the man's sadism. He holds the knife in front of him in a defensive posture. Against a full-length sword, the odds are not in his favor.

McCairne charges at Esposito and the Detective retreats. Both men are entirely focused on this cat-and-mouse game.

* * *

Ryan stares at the blade keeping him trapped. He's exhausted; the adrenaline from the fight is ebbing fast and all the damaged he's sustained tonight is starting to catch up with him. A small part of his brain is tempting him with the idea of rest.

That is, until Ryan hears his partner talking with McCairne. His partner is still in danger. Gritting his teeth, he shelves his fatigue and grips the sword. Using all his strength, he manages to pull the sword out of the box it was stuck in. Ryan uses the sword to help him stand up. He looks around and finds his partner desperately trying to stay out of the reach of McCairne's blade.

* * *

Esposito frantically ducks and dodges from the blade-wielding mobster. Alright, this is definitely going in his top ten for worst days on the job.

A fear starts creeping into the Detective; he knows that he can't keep this up for very long. He trips over one of the boxes and is scurrying backwards. McCairne slows down and keeps the sword in front of him. He's playing with the Hispanic Detective now, like a cat before it pounces on its prey.

"You're even easier to hunt than Fenton was." McCairne taunts him.

"I told you, my name is Kevin."

McCairne turns around in time to see Ryan thrust a sword right through his gut. McCairne's eyes widen as he stares down at the blade and ever-expanding blood stain.

"You…" He tries to curse at Kevin, but words are beyond him. McCairne slumps to the ground. His eyes roll in the back of his head. He's dead.

"You okay?" Javier asks as he stands up and heads to his partner.

"I'm fine." Ryan tries to convince him. Unfortunately for him, Esposito sees right through it.

"Liar."

"Whatever Javi. Can we go now? I've had enough of this place." Kevin asks tiredly, dropping the sword to the ground as his exhaustion starts to take over.

"Sure bro, whatever you say." Javier tells him gently. He takes the Irish Detective's good arm and puts it over his shoulder, helping his partner as they go to retrieve their gear.

All the while Esposito tries to keep watch on his partner. Frankly, he's amazed. Esposito has known for a while now that his partner is a lot tougher and stronger than he looks. Javier will privately admit that he too has underestimated his partner on more than one occasion because of his size and looks. But this, well Esposito has never been more impressed with Kevin than he is right now. By all accounts both of them should be dead, but his partner, possessing a combination of skill, Irish luck, and a hell of a lot of courage, managed to save them both.

"Hey Javi." Kevin speaks up softly, interrupting Esposito's thoughts.

"Yeah bro?"

"Next time, let's have Beckett go look for the suspect."

Javier breaks out into a wide smile. "You got it partner."

* * *

_Two hours later…_

"You should've seen it Beckett. Jedi Master Kevin charged at him like a crazy sonofabitch and was tumbling around like a circus performer. Now that I know who wins, it was kind of awesome."

Ryan turns red listening to his partner tell the story. They are finally back at the Precinct after the two of them got looked at for their injuries. The cut to Kevin's arm was the worst injury. But luckily it ended up looking and feeling a lot worse than it was. It didn't damage anything vital and all it needed was some gauze and being wrapped. The other piece of good luck was that neither Detective had sustained a concussion. The other various bumps and bruises both Esposito and Ryan had sustained would heal on their own.

Castle is hanging on to every word of Esposito's story. Kevin looks at his face and would bet his badge that this whole mess will somehow end up in one of the writer's next novels.

"If only I had been there." Castle moans dramatically. "Or at least there was film of it."

At this, Beckett breaks out into a wide grin. "Actually Castle, I think your Christmas present came early. Turns out that warehouse had a security camera in it that captured their little play time."

Castle's eyes grow three sizes bigger. "We have to watch it. Now."

Giving in not just to Castle but to her own curiosity, Beckett pulls up the security footage on her computer and rewinds it to the start. She pushes play and the four of them sit there and watch what happened. None of them speak as the security camera footage plays the events that transpired. Ryan and Esposito vividly remember every second of it. Castle and Beckett are absorbed in watching the action. Not a word is said until the image of McCairne falling dead is through.

"Kevin, you really are a _crazy_ son of a bitch!" Castle exclaims, slapping the Irish Detective on the back.

"Just like I told you Castle." Javier says proudly.

Beckett notices that Ryan doesn't look at all embarrassed or proud. In fact, his demeanor is very somber.

"Something wrong Kevin?" She asks him.

"This was too close." He mutters softly. "I mean, looking back on it, one mistake and we'd have been dead."

The mood does grow quieter. Esposito puts a hand on his partner's shoulder.

"It doesn't matter. We're both alive thanks to you."

Ryan does blush at this. "Thanks Javi." He smiles at the three of them. "I was kind of a bad ass wasn't I?"

Immediately things are light-hearted again. "Yeah you were bro. Come on, drinks are on me tonight."

"Really?" Ryan is genuinely surprised as he stands up and looks at his partner. "You never buy Mr. Cheap Ass."

"We'll call it a thanks for this evening."

"So the price for a free beer is saving your life?"

"Sure, we'll go with that bro."

Beckett and Castle hold hands and follow behind them. The writer and detective watch as Ryan and Esposito continue their banter all the way to the elevator. It is clear that Javier's name for Kevin is true; they really are brothers.

* * *

_So, what do you all think? Good? Not so good? Either way, I'd appreciate any reviews you all leave. They are much appreciated._


End file.
